Grip for a golf club putter shaft

ABSTRACT

An improved golf grip, for a putter golf club wherein the front surface of the grip is curved upward at the butt, and tip ends of the grip from the axis of the club shaft. The grip is formed around two intersecting longitudinal axes wherein said axes run through the axis of the shaft. The upward curved front surface of the grip allows a golfer to hold the grip of the putter with his or her hands in a natural position at address, (the position that a golfer takes in preparation for making a putt), reducing unwanted tension/stress in the hands thus enabling the golfer to produce a straight backward and forward putting stroke and keep the putter face square to the intended target line further resulting in more accurate and consistent putts.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application takes priority from provisional application Ser. No.60/702,828 filed on Jul. 27, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to the field of golf clubs andmore particularly to a newly designed golf club putter grip that makesit easier to hit straighter and more accurate putts.

2. Background Art

Throughout golf history putter grips have been designed with a shape topromote a straight backward and forward putting stroke and help keep theputter face square to the intended target throughout the stroke. Many ofthese designs promote stress build-up of the hands due to a shape of thegrip that forces the hands to hold the putter grip in an unnaturalposition in relation to the shaft axis and putter club head lie.

By holding the grip of the putter with the hands in a natural positionthe golfer is more inclined to produce a putting stroke that is smoothand in line with the intended target due to a reduction of unwantedtension produced by an unnatural hand position while holding the grip.The tension can cause an erratic putting stroke thereby causing thestruck golf ball to roll in a different direction from the intendedtarget line.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

An improved golf grip, for a putter golf club wherein the front surfaceof the grip is curved upward at the butt, and tip ends of the grip fromthe axis of the club shaft. The grip is formed around two intersectinglongitudinal axes wherein said axes run through the axis of the shaft.The upward curved front surface of the grip allows a golfer to hold thegrip of the putter with his or her hands in a natural position ataddress, (the position that a golfer takes in preparation for making aputt), reducing unwanted tension/stress in the hands thus enabling thegolfer to produce a straight backward and forward putting stroke andkeep the putter face square to the intended target line furtherresulting in more accurate and consistent putts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various embodiments, features and advances of the present inventionwill be understood more completely hereinafter as a result of a detaileddescription thereof in which reference will be made to the followingdrawings:

FIG. 1 shows a golfer's hands holding the improved putting grip;

FIG. 2 shows a golfer's hands holding a “conventional” putting grip;

FIG. 3 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the“improved putting grip” in a natural comfortable position during setup;

FIG. 4 depicts how the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold theconventional grip;

FIG. 5 depicts a golfer that is in the natural setup putting positionand prepared to execute the putting stroke;

FIG. 6 depicts a golfer that is in the conventional setup puttingposition and prepared to execute the putting stroke; and

FIG. 7 shows an open hand with two illustrated putting grips runninglengthwise across the valley of the hand, the conventional grip shown indotted line and the inventive grip shown in solid line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a golfer's hands holding the improved putting grip. Thehands illustrate how the grip is held while the golfer is in a naturalsetup position using the Vardon reverse overlap grip. (The Vardonreverse overlap grip is the preferred method of holding the puttergrip). The grip shown in the illustration is defined by the outlinedshape, two broken lines defined as a “grip axis” and a “shaft axis”which intersect to form a single axis at approximately the middle of thegrip. In the natural setup position the grip axis follows the gripcross-section and curves upward from the shaft axis toward the top ofthe grip. The upward curving grip allows the grip axis and the top ofthe grip to closely contour the “valley of the hand”, as defined by thecrease in the hand which runs from the center of the wrist curvingdiagonally to the area between the thumb and the index finger, and runmore in line with the golfer's forearm. This promotes an extension of agolfer's forearm enabling the golfer to setup comfortably with lessstress and tension in order to execute a smoother, straighterstress-free putting stroke resulting in more consistent putts thattravel toward the intended target.

FIG. 2 shows a golfer's hands holding a “conventional” putting grip. Thehands illustrate how the grip is held while the golfer is in aconventional setup position using a Vardon reverse overlap grip. Thegrip shown in the illustration is defined by the outlined shape, twobroken lines defined as a “grip axis” and a “shaft” axis” whichintersect to form a single axis at approximately the middle of saidgrip. In the conventional setup position the grip axis follows the gripcross section, curves downward from the shaft axis toward the bottom ofthe grip. The downward curving grip travels counter to the “valley ofthe hand” causing the golfer to cock his or her wrists upward in orderto properly orient the putter at setup thus creating unwanted stress andtension in the grip and setup position. The stress and tension promotean inconsistent putting stroke resulting in putts that travel away fromthe intended target.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a golfer's hands holding the “improved putting grip”and conventional putting grip, respectively. Also shown are the golfer'swrists and two sets of broken lines defined as “shaft axis” and “wristangle” in order to depict the difference in the amount of wrist cockbetween FIGS. 3 and 4. The “shaft axis” runs the length of the shaft.The “wrist axis” travels from the center of the wrist, down through thepalm of the hand and intersects with the “shaft axis”. FIG. 3 depictshow the hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the “improved puttinggrip” in a natural comfortable position during setup. FIG. 4 depicts howthe hands in conjunction with the wrists hold the conventional grip. The“wrist angle” in FIG. 4 is bent upward at a greater angle than the“wrist angle” shown in FIG. 3. The increased upward cocking of the wristangle is caused by the conventional putting grip that curves downward atthe butt of the grip. To compensate for this design the golfer must cockhis or her wrists upward to achieve a proper setup. Cocking the wristsupward in this manner produces stress and tension in the putting gripand setup which could result in a putting stroke that can be erratic andproduce putts that travel away from the intended target.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the difference in the setup of a golfer using theimproved putting grip, (FIG. 5) and the conventional putting grip, (FIG.6). FIG. 5 depicts a golfer that is in the natural setup puttingposition and prepared to execute the putting stroke. The golfer's eyesare positioned over the golf ball, the arms are relaxed with thegolfer's left forearm axis relatively in alignment with the putter shaftaxis. The natural setup is free of stress and tension thus allowing thegolfer to execute a putting stroke that will cause the ball to rolltoward its intended target.

FIG. 6 depicts a golfer that is in the conventional setup puttingposition and prepared to execute the putting stroke. The golfer's eyesare positioned over the golf ball. The forearms and wrists are cockedupward introducing stress and tension into the setup position andputting stroke which can lead to an erratic putting stroke, furtherleading to the stroked golf ball traveling off the intended target line.

FIG. 7 shows an open hand with two illustrated putting grips runninglengthwise across the valley of the hand. The improved putting grip isdefined by the solid outline. The conventional putting grip is definedby the broken outline. The valley of the hand is defined by the curvedlines that extend from the area between the index finger and the thumbto the bottom of the palm. The curved lines depict the creases which arecommon in any person.

FIG. 7 clearly illustrates how the top of the improved putter grip,defined by the solid outline, follows the curved creases in the valleyof the hand. The conventional putter grip, defined by the brokenoutline, runs counter, in the opposite direction, to the curved creasesin the valley of the hand and said improved putter grip.

FIG. 7 illustrates how the improved putter grip fits the natural curvesand contour of a golfer's hand promoting a natural comfortable grip,free of stress and tension.

The drawing further illustrates how the conventional putter grip curvesin the opposite direction of the natural creases in one's hand promotingstress and tension.

It will now be understood that the present invention provides animproved putter grip having upwardly curved or convex portions near thebutt and tip ends of the grip of the front surface thereof that mateswith the golfer's palms to permit a more relaxed and natural handcontour that promotes more accurate putts. The scope hereof is to belimited only by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A grip for a golf club putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and atip end, a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface facingthe golfer's palms when the grip is held in a golfer's hands forstriking a golf ball, the grip comprising: a front surface that iscurved convexly near the butt and tip ends to reduce a golfer's wristbend angle in gripping the putting for striking a golf ball.
 2. A gripfor a golf club putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and a tip end,a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface facing thegolfer's palms when the grip is held in a golfer's hands for striking agolf ball, the grip comprising: a front surface that is curved upwardlyadjacent the butt and tip ends to reduce the golfer's wrist bend anglein gripping the putter for striking a golf ball.
 3. A grip for a golfclub putter shaft, the grip having a butt end and a tip end, a frontsurface and a rear surface, the front surface facing the golfer's palmswhen the grip is held in a golfer's hands for striking a golf ball, thegrip comprising: a front surface that is shaped to be more convex nearat least one of the butt end and tip end to reduce the golfer's wristbend angle in gripping the putter for striking a golf ball.